Tomb Raider 2: The Cradle of Life
Angelina Jolie, Gerard Butler, Chris Barrie, Djimon Hounsou, Ciaran Hinds
Directed by Jan de Bont

United International Pictures, Paramount PIctures

Thanks to Cams for the premiere tix to Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. I wasn’t able to see the first Lara Croft film, so I was more curious to find out what this action-adventure chick flick had to offer.

In this Angelina Jolie-starrer, Lara Croft is tasked to prevent a group of evil capitalists from decoding a strange orb that’s supposed to lead them to the very secret of life itself, found in the legendary Pandora’s box.

I got in late, and found my place just near the entrance way, leaning against the wall trying to get comfortable. But halfway through the film, I was fighting off the urge to leave. If you walk into the theater thinking ‘mindless popcorn action,’ then you’ll just might think it okay. My only complaint can be summarized in three words:

Hindi siya astig.

Most of the film was pretty standard fare -- gun fights, special effects, techie trimmings, sensuality, a few monsters – but had nothing that made my eyes pop out. (Save, perhaps, for one steamy but short-lived scene, really hot but otherwise pointless.) The stunts were generally ludicrous, and the script had that I-wanna-be-witty thing going. It would have helped if there were one or two blow-my-mind action sequences, but I had to content myself with Jolie’s luscious pout.

Maybe director Jan de Bont should stick to cinematography (Shining Through, Minority Report, Flatliners) instead of directing. I liked his megs on Speed and Twister, but his next two films before Tomb Raider 2 (The Haunting and Speed 2) were disappointments. If you’re going to ask me, Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life is not something I’d go out of my way to watch.

But, whaddyaknow? I just did.

My rating: 5 out of 10

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